Why Most Digital Twin Projects Fail & How To Fix It

Let’s be honest, we’ve been talking about IT/OT convergence for years, and most companies still can’t get it right.

Here are some common patterns:

⇨ IT builds the perfect, scalable digital twin model, loaded with every possible data field, but it’s too abstract, and there’s no ROI.

⇨ OT picks a narrow use case, maybe one that solves an immediate pain, but the solution can’t scale. It’s a dead-end.

⇨ And neither side talks to the other.

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The ones succeeding at scale have one thing in common:

They empower leaders who sit right at the IT/OT intersection and give them a mandate to drive digital transformation.

These leaders build smart, multi-use-case roadmaps. Not too broad. Not too narrow.

Usually:

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✅ 2 to 3 years long

✅ Focused on 3 to 5 high-impact use cases

✅ Each tied to real KPIs, like uptime, scrap reduction, or quality improvement.

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In short, you need a data model that scales across factories, but you also need quick wins to prove ROI.That balance is hard. It takes discipline. Empathy. And a vision that’s both practical and ambitious.